Paper rewinding and measuring machine.



C. H. CROWELL.

PAPER REWINDING AND MEASURING MACHINE.

APPLICATION FILED OCT-9| 1913.

Patented July 6, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET I.

Mir/ W5 C. H. CROWELL.

PAPER REWINDING AND MEASURING MACHINE. APPLICATION FILED OCT. 9; 1913.

1,145,469. Patented July 6, 1915.

3 SHEETS-SHEET 2- C. H. CROWELL.

PAPER REWI NDING AND MEASURiNG MACHINE. APPIQICATION men OCT. 9. I913.

1,145,469. Patelited July 6, 1915.

3 SHEETSSHEET 3- COLUMEXA PLANOGRAPH CO-.WASHINOTON. D. 1:v

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CHARLES H. CROWELL, OF SWAMPSCOTT, MASSACHUSETTS.

PAPER BEWINDING AND MEASURING MACHINE.

Application filed October 9, 1913.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that 1, CHARLES H. CROWELL, citizen of the United States,residing at Swampscott, county of Essex, State of Massachusetts, haveinvented a certain new and useful Improvement in Paper Rewinding andMeasuring Machines, of which the following is a specification, referencebeing had therein to the accompanying drawings.

My invention has for its object a machine for measuring rolls of paper,gummed cloth, and the like, and is especially designed'for measuringnarrow rolls of material such as stay strip of tape commonly employed inthe construction of paper boxes, binding tablets, books, sealingpackages, and the like.

So far as known to me, the present methods of measuring tape are crudeand subject to more or less inaccuracy and therefore the object of myinvention is to produce a machine which shall correctly determine theamount of tape in a roll, thereby permitting the manufacturer to checkup his measuring devices and the consumer the goods received.

The invention will be fully understood from the following descriptiontaken in connection with the accompanying drawings and the novelfeatures thereof are clearly pointed out and defined in the claims atthe close of the specification.

In the drawings,Figure 1 is a front elevation, of a machine embodying myinvention. Fig. 2 is a plan view of the same. Fig. 3 is a frontelevation in detail of the indicator mechanism. Figs. 4 and 5 aredetails in section on lines 44 and 55 respectively of Fig. 3.

Having reference to the drawings, and particularly to Figs. 1 and 2,there is shown at A the frame of the machine which may be of any desiredform and construction. I prefer to construct the frame with two uprightportions B and C in order that the rolls to be hereinafter described maybe most readily and conveniently supported. The rear upright portion Cis provided with two laterally extending arms D and E for the support ofthe unwinding shaft F and the rewinding shaft G respectively. Secured tothe rear of the frame, is the motor H for driving the machine. \Vhile Iprefer a motor for convenience, it is obvious that any well known meansfor operating the machine may be employed. The motor H is provided witha pinion 11 which engages a gear 12 secured to the end of the shaft 13of Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented July 6, 1915. Serial No. 794,289.

a feed roll 14, the feed roll 14, being jourv naled into. the frame soas to freely rotate therein, as clearly appears in Fig; 2. Intermediatebetween the feed roll 14 and the unwinding shaft F and parallel to eachof said members, is a measuring roll 15 which is also journaled in theframe on the shaft 16 so as to be freely rotatable therein. Themeasuring roll is preferably larger than the feed roll and is connectedwith indicator mechanism, as will be hereinafter set forth.

In order that the stay strip or material to be measured shall be heldfirmly against the measuring roll and feed roll without danger ofslippage, I provide pressure rolls 17 and 18 which bear against themeasuring roll 15, and a pressure roll 19 which operates on the surfaceof the feed roll 14. Each of these pressure rolls is journaled by meansof shafts 87 to arms 20 which are in turn secured to shafts 21, saidshafts being pivoted in the frame, as shown in Fig. 1. A lever 22 issecured to each of the shafts 21, the free ends of said levers beingconnected with springs 23 which are in turn adjustably secured to theframe A by means of adjustment screws 24 whereby their tension may bereadily varied. The tape is fed between the pressure rolls 17 and 18 andthe measuringvroll 15 and the pressure roll 19 and the feed roll 14, andthus any'slippage of the tape on the measuring roll and feed roll isprevented.

I regard this construction as important for the reason that greatdifliculty has been experienced in the past in causing the tape to feedevenly through the machine. It is essential, in order that the tape mayrewind in a straight and even roll, that it is fed evenly through themachine, and I have found that unless a uniform pressure be exertedtransversely of the tape it will not feed evenly. Heretofore, so far asknown to me, pressure rolls provided with spring mounted ends have beenemployed, and therefore if the tape is not threaded through the machineexactly in the center of the roll, the spring mounted end nearest towhich the tape happens to be will yield more than the other end, whichresults in canting. the roll. This places more pressure on one side ofthe tape than the other, and therefore results in an uneven feed. By thearrangement hereinabove' described, however, the ends of the pressureroll being rigidly held in position relatively to each other, an evenpressure is exerted transversely of the tape regardless of its positionwith the result that it rewinds in a straight and even roll. Furthermorethis construction enables the pressure rolls to be moved to and from thesurface upon which they operate, which is essential to readily threadthe tape into the machine.

The tape passes around the measuring roll, as will hereinafter bedescribed, and in order that the measuring roll shall at once ceaserotation when the end of the tape has left it, there is provided anautomatic brake roll 25 which is located intermediate the measuring roll15 and the feed roll 14. The roll 25 is pivotally mounted on arms 26which are secured to a shaft 27 ournaled in the frame, as shown inFig. 1. One of the arms 26 has an extension 28 which is provided on itsfree end with a horizontal brake member 29 so arranged as to extendbelow the lower surface of the measuring roll. The brake member 29 iscovered with a friction material 97 of any well known form. such asleather or the like. To the extension '28, is secured a hook 30 to whichaspring 31 is attached at one end, the other end of the spring beingsecured to a pin 32 in the frame. The tape T passes around the brakeroll 25 as shown in Fig. 1. A tension on the tape lifts the brake roll25 on the pivoted shaft 27 against the pull of the spring 31 whichdisengages the brake from the measuring roll and allows free rotation ofthe same. When the tension on the tape is relaxed the spring 31 causesthe brake member to engage the measuring roll and immediately stops itsrotation. A stop pin 98 is secured to the frame a short distance aboveone of the arms 27 to limit its movement to a point which is sufficientfor the brake member 29 to be out of contact with the measuring roll. Inpractice, the measuring roll is twelve inches in circumference, as aconvenient unit of measurement, and operates the indicator mechanism asshown in detail in Figs. 3, 4, and 5.

The indicator mechanism is supported in a pocket 90 in the upper end ofthe upright portion B of the frame A. This pocket 90 has a removablefront face 91 which is provided with two dials 92 and 93. Connected withthe shaft 16 of the measuring roll 15 as will hereinafter be describedis a small pinion 32 which normally engages a gear 33 secured to a shaft34 which is journaled in the upright portion 13 and the front face 91forming the rear and front sides respectively of the pocket 90. Theshaft 34 extends through the face 91 centrally of the dial 92 and isprovided on its free end with a hand 36. The ratio of the small pinion32 to the gear 33 being, for instance 1 to 10 and the measuring roll 15being twelve inches in circumference, the dial 92 is capable ofregistering ten feet of tape. The dial 93 cooperates with a hand 39secured to the free end of a shaft 38 which is in turn connected withthe pinion 33 by means of the gears 40, 41, 42, S6 and 88. The dial 93is so arranged as to measure 1000 feet. \Vhile I have described thesesomewhat in detail, of course any scale of measurement may be adoptedand additional dials may be added if required. In order that the handsmay be turned back to zero when desired, I have provided the shaft 16with a hole 43 and a slot 44. A thumb bolt 45 to which the small pinion32 is secured extends through the face 91 and fits loosely the hole inthe shaft 16. The thumb bolt 45 and pinion 32 are caused to rotate withthe shaft 16 by means of a transverse pin 46 which is slidablelongitudinally of the slot 44, to disengage the pinion 32 from thepinion 33. A spiral push spring 34 normally holds the pinion 32 inengagement with the pinion 33. hen it is desired to move the indicatorindependently of the measuring wheel, it is only necessary to press uponthe thumb bolt 45 which compresses the spring 38 and disengages thepinions 32 and. 33. In order that the indicators may be turned back tozero I provide a knob 47 on the rear end of the indicator shaft 38.

The unwinding shaft F is secured to the arm D to hold the roll of tapeto be measured. The rewinding shaft G rests in a journal 49 in the arm Eand in a cup bearing 94 in the arm 50. The last mentioned member ispivoted at 51 so that it may be swung away from the shaft to permit theremoval of the tape roll and is normally retained in supporting positionby means of a spring latch which consists of a latch member 52 pivotedat 60 and actuated by a spiral pull spring 61 secured to the frame bymeans of a pin 62. The rewinding shaft is driven by a belt 53 placedover the pulley wheels 54 and 55 which are secured to the rewindingshaft G and the feed roll shaft 13 respectively as shown in Fig. 2. Theproportions of these pulleys are such as to cause the rewinding shaft toturn a wood core of the smallest diameter on which tape is to be woundand which has been nonrotatably secured to the rewinding shaftG at aspeed that will make the surface of the wood core travel at a slightlvfaster speed than the surface of the feed I roll. Inasmuch as the tapeisdriven through the machine by means of the feed roll 14 this results inthe tape holding back the rewinding shaft and causes the beltto slipwhich gives the necessary tension to the tape to produce a firm andevenly wound roll. As the diameter of the roll increases on therewinding shaft I have found that it requires gradually more and moretension in order that a uniformly solid roll may be produced, but as thediameter of the roll increases, theslip of the belt increasescorrespondingly and therefore the tension on the tape is proportionallyincreased. The re winding shaft is provided with a single small flange56 to aid in the proper starting of the tape on the core.

The unwinding shaft is provided with deep flanges 57 and. 58 which areslidable thereon to inclose rolls of various widths and which areprovided with collars 95 and thumb screws 96 by which they may benonrotatably secured to the shaft in the position desired. In the collar95 of the flange 58 is a spring adjustment 59 which holds the flangeagainst the side of the roll of tape with a yielding pressure. Theunwinding shaft F does not rotate and therefore a friction contact isproduced on the sides of the roll of tape, which gives the necessarytension, and inasmuch as the roll of tape requires less tension as itdecreases in size this method of tension produces the proper tension onaccount of the lesser surface contact and therefore lesser tension asthe roll decreases in diameter. I

In operating the machine the tape roll is placed on the unwinding shaftF between the flanges 57 and 58 and the flanges are secured to theshaft. The tape T is then passed under the pressure roll 17, over themeasuring roll 15, under the pressure roll 18, under the brake roll 25,over the feed roll 14:, around the pressure roll 19, and thence to therewinding shaft G.

When the machine is started the tension on the tape caused by the feedroll will raise the brake roll 25 and disengage the brake 29 from thesurface of the measuring roll 15 which will allow the measuring roll torotate freely. When the end of the tape passes the pressure roll 18 thetension on the brake roll 25 is at once relaxed and the spring 31 causesthe brake to engage the measuring roll and arrest its rotation. I regardthis as an important feature of my invention for the reason that it isessential for accurate measurement by the machine.

What I claim is: v

1. In a tape measuring machine, the combination of an unwinding shaft, ameasuring roll, a pressure roll yieldingly operating against saidmeasuring roll to hold the tape in contact with its surface, anautomatic brake mechanism acting on the measuring roll, a feed roll, apressure roll yieldingly operating on said feed roll, a rewinding Copiesof this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing theshaft, means for operating said feed roll and said rewinding shaft tocause said tape to rotate the measuring roll, and means for registeringthe rotation of said measuring roll.

2. In a tape measuring machine, the combination of a measuring roll,winding mechanism, and brake mechanism, said brake mechanism comprisinga brake roll and a shoe, rigidly connected pivotal supports in whichsaid brake roll is mounted, a supporting member secured to said supportson which said shoe is mounted, means for yieldingly holding the shoe incontact with the measuring roll, said brake rollbeing mountattachmentnormally holding said brake member in frictional contact with themeasuring roll, a feed roll, means for operating said feed roll to drawtape around the measuring roll and the automatic brakeroll, the tensionof said tape acting against said spring to disengage said brake memberfrom the measuring roll. 7 Y Y 4. In a tape measuring machine, anunwinding tension device comprising a nonrotatable shaft for a taperoll, flanges secured to said shaft, and yielding means for causing saidflanges to frictionally bear against the sides of the tape roll incombination with a rewinding tension device comprising a feed roll andrewinding shaft, a belt and pulley connection between said roll andshaft, and means for rotating the feed roll, the belt and pulleyconnection being proportioned to give a greater surface speed to therewinding shaftthan tothat of the feed roll so that the belt slips onthe pulleys.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature,

in presence of two witnesses.

CHARLES H. CROWELL. Witnesses:

WALTER N. MACADAM, JANET M. TURNAN.

Commissioner of Patents,

Washington, D. C.

